FAIL...

Yup... for all of you keeping track, I FAILED my 30 day thankful challenge. You win! 

Ugh. I rarely get a free moment now-a-days and when I do... I.JUST.DON'T.FEEL.LIKE.WRITTING.

THE END

{Day 3}...

I am grateful for my belief in God and the after life. I'm not a hugely spiritual person. I was not raised in a religious family. I never went to church. I'm not of a certain religion. I don't know a ton about the Bible, but I do know one thing... there is a God and when you die, it is not the end. I take great comfort in knowing this. I try to live a good life and teach my kids to live a good life... not just be sympathetic towards other people but, more importantly, teach them to be empathetic. I believe when you truly learn to be empathetic, you grow as a person and become a better person... with a better heart. I'm not certain that this is enough to get me to Heaven, but I'd like to believe it is.

... I don't know exactly where I'm going with all of this. I'm kind of rambling here. But, I'm grateful to know there is a God. I'm grateful that when I pray at night, I know there is someone listening. A close family friend died early this morning. I'm not sad for her. After all, how can you be sad for someone who is dancing, singing & laughing in the clouds and feels nothing but happiness and joy right now? I'm grateful and comforted that, that is what I believe. Her family & friends and all who are left behind are who I am sad for.

I've had several close people die in the last couple of years. They were all truly good people with good hearts. I just can't imagine them anywhere but in Heaven. Through each death, my belief in God and a continued after life has grown... and for that I am grateful.

R.I.P. Sue.

{Day2}...

Quiet morning/midnight snuggles. I don't care when they happen... I'll take them when I can get them. Sitting in a dark, quiet house with a snuggly baby, while the rest of the world is sleeping is like ahhhhh... the calm before the storm.  I don't get too many from Allie & Kole anymore... stinkers. So, I have to really soak up the ones with Clare & Hannah as much as I can, because soon I'm sure those will be few and far between too. Pretty soon Tim will be the only person who will snuggle with me! Hannah loves to snuggle. If I sit down during the day, right away she brings me her blanket, binky & kindle and says, 'nuggle me you'. Today {and everyday} I am thankful for snuggles.

 

Even this beast likes a good snuggle!

30 Days of Thanks

It's November... you know, the month we're supposed to 'give thanks'.  So what better way to break my blogging drought than to share with the wordl what it is that I'm thankful for. These 'thanks' are in no particular order. So here goes...

{DAY 1}...

 

Patience. I am thankful for the way that my patience has evolved through each child. Today I am a MUCH more patient mom than I've ever been.

 

 I've had several life happenings that have taught me a thing or two about being patient. But nothing has taught me more about patience than having 4 kids. I posted about Clare & her tupperware on Facebook this week, but I think it's a good example. I get so tired of cleaning up tupperware and half the time I end up having to run some of it through the dishwasher just to put it back and do it all over again. BUT... emptying the cupboard makes Clare happy, so we do it 365 times a day. She also likes to help me empty the dishwasher. Honestly, sometimes this drives me nuts. I quickly remove all the knives and then let her {one by one} remove each piece of silverware and throw it on the floor at my feet, for me to pick up and put it in the drawer. Everyday. We do this everyday. Patience. I remind myself ALL THE TIME that they won't be little forever and someday I'm going to miss it. Or how about Kole and his 356 hypothetical questions per day? This kid is the KING of hypothetical questions. But I answer them... and I will continue to answer them every.single.day until he asks them no more. Ahhhh, patience. And Hannah... oh sweet sweet Hannah... she is the one who taught me all about this patience stuff. Once I fully learned to be patient with my kids and really just let stuff go, let them have fun, let them be kids, I've found that I am so much happier and my kids are so much happier. You will NEVER EVER walk into my house and see it spotless, laundry completley done and put away, kitchen clean, sink empty. Nope... you'll always see toys out in our front yard {sorry neighbors!}, leaves or dirt tracked in through the house, kids & animals running amok, Hannah & Clare probably naked. Patience. Now, I'm no where near perfect. I can lose my cool with the best of em! I can't tell you how many times a day I have to take a deep breath and repeat 'Lord, give me patience'. Lets just all pray that this patience stuff sticks around through Hannah's horrible 3's {God help me, that's just 2 weeks away!}.